Clothes-frame



narra sfrxrns man ortica.

M. J. KNOX, OF KNOX CORNERS, NEW YORK.

CLOTHES-FRAME.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 32,569, dated June 18, 1861.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, M. J. KNOX, of Knox Corners, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Clothes-Frame; and I do hereby de clare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a transverse vertical sectional elevation of my improved clothes frame. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the improved frame.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

The object of this invention is to construct a double quadrangular clothes rack or frame in such a manner that it can be extended or contracted at pleasure for adapting it to containand support a large or small quantity oi" articles for drying.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, A, and B, B, represent four bars which form the standards of the frame. These bars ,may be made very long or very short according to their requirements and they each have holes made through them at suitable distances apart i'or receiving the clothes line, as will be hereinafter fully explained. The upper ends of the bars A, A, and B, B, are connected by pivots a, a, to the outer ends of slotted -extension bars b, b, which extend transversely across the upper ends of the frame. rllhese bars A, A, and B, B, are again connected together by slotted extension bars A', A', and B', B', which extend transversely across their respective bars A, A, and B, B, at the bases ot these bars as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. I thus form two quadrangular frames which, when used, are spread out at their lower ends forming twoinclined planes connected together at their upper ends. Each pair of the extension bars is connected together by screws c, c which pass through their longitudinal slots and receive thumb nuts cl, d, on their ends, and by means of these screws and nuts the extension bars can be secured together rigidly so that the entire frame will be as stitl" as though the transverse bars were made of solid pieces. To the frame thus constructed and put together I attach the line D, on which the articles to be dried are hung by passing it through the holes in the bars A, A, and B, B, and carrying it back and forth from one of these frame bars to the other thus forming a rack of parallel lines extending horizontally one above the other from the top to near the bottom of the frame.

Now when `the thumb nuts d, d, of the three pairs of extension bars are loosened and the clothes line slackened, the clothes frame may be extended laterally to the full extent of the slotted bars if desired and these extension bars may again be secured by tightening the nuts CZ, CZ, of each bar, thus keeping the frame in the extended condi tion. In extending the frame laterally to increase its capacity for holding articles, the lines must be slackened and a much longer line will be required than is contracted, therefore a surplus of clothes line will be provided to admit of the extension of the frame. The line D, can easily be tightened and kept tight; and one continuous line may be used for both halves of the frame.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The clothes-frame herein described and represented consisting of the bars A. A. and B, B, extension slotted bars Z), b, A', A', B', B', tightening screws and nuts c, CZ, and clothes line D; all arranged, combined and operating substantially as herein set forth.

M. J. KNOX. Witnesses:

VILLIAM M. FAIRGHILD, WM. C. LEAGH. 

